


night trails

by EasyPeasyPanic



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Attempt at Humor, Drabble, Established Relationship, Ghost Stories, I Don't Even Know, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Konoha National Park AU, M/M, Mentions of Izuna and Tobirama, Park Ranger Madara Uchiha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25662481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EasyPeasyPanic/pseuds/EasyPeasyPanic
Summary: "I don't like this." He reminds, as if he hasn't been saying that for the past half an hour. Or hasn't been saying it since before they even left the damn station. "Why did you make me come along?"Madara whirled around, pointing his flashlight straight in Hashirama's eyes until he flailed around. "I didn't invite you!"
Relationships: Senju Hashirama/Uchiha Madara
Comments: 7
Kudos: 74





	night trails

**Author's Note:**

> i shouldn't be allowed to have ideas, that's how this terrible fic was born

* * *

Hashirama's whisper is almost lost in the soft crunch of branches and leaves under their feet. 

"I don't like this." He reminds, as if he hasn't been saying that for the past half an hour. Or hasn't been saying it since before they even left the damn station. "Why did you make me come along?" 

Madara whirled around, pointing his flashlight straight in Hashirama's eyes until he flailed around. "I didn't invite you!" The park ranger huffed. "I specifically said ' _Hashirama, stay your ass at the station_ ' except whenever I tell you something, you do the opposite." He steps off the usual, mapped trail nearing the end of the hiking area. "Why did you even want to spend night shift with me? By the time I get off, you'll need to start your shift."

"Because my job isn't really that difficult on a Friday. We've done all our work for the week, usually. It's most paperwork. We've already collected our samples and tested everything. I can nap in my office." Hashirama waved him off, glancing around suspiciously. "Besides, I missed hanging out with you, Madara. I never get to see you anymore." 

"We live together, you idiot."

"But I want more time together!"

Madara bristled like an unaffectionate cat, " _We live together_. Maybe I want time away from you when I'm at work." 

As if he hadn't transferred from being a high-ranking officer in the actual Police Department to becoming a Park Ranger _just_ so he could work at the same place as Hashirama. 

"Besides," Madara said snidely. "You're the one that wanted to spend the night with me."

Hashirama's grip on his own flashlight tightened, "Well I thought we'd just hang out at your desk, not go messing around in the forest. You know it's haunted at night!" He glanced across the high trees, as if he expected something sinister to leap down to get them. He shivers, despite wearing Madara's thick, park-issued jacket with _Uchiha, Park Ranger_ across the right breast. Which the Uchiha hadn't _exactly_ said he could wear, but Hashirama liked it because it was nice and warm, and it smelled just like Madara which meant he could pretend he was getting a hug at all times. 

(And because he was jealous that Madara _got_ a jacket, so he felt the need to always have it in petty revenge. The biologists and biological technicians don't get anything except for the occasional _Konohagakure National Park_ pens or sometimes new badge holders.)

"For the last time, _Hashirama_." Madara sighed loudly, his breathing turning into a soft mist as it touched the chilly autumn air. "The forest isn't haunted. I don't care what my brother told you. He works the day shift anyway, how would he know what happens at night?"

Hashirama sticks his chin out defiantly, shaking his head. "It is _soo_ haunted. Izuna wouldn't lie to me." He said, without any actual evidence or further proof besides the stories Izuna had told him when the Uchiha stayed at their apartment a few nights ago just to eat all of their leftovers from that BBQ resturuant down the street. He shivers again, his skin prickling and he clung as close to the Uchiha as he could manage. "Do we _have_ to be out here?" 

Madara gives him an unimpressed stare, "Yes, we have to be out here. There's been reports of somebody coming out here and starting some unauthorized fires. Not too bad, but enough that I have to drag my ass out here to stop them." 

"Or maybe it's the ghost doing it." 

"Or it's a bunch of drunk _idiots_ with some old bottle rockets from the summer fireworks." Madara retorts. He shakes Hashirama off when he jumps to cling to his arm, trying to push him away.

"Stop!" He demanded. "What are you doing?"

"I'm _afraid_." Hashirama whined, throwing his arms up in disappointment. He narrowly missed smashing his hand against a low hanging branch that splintered off the trunk, barely visible between their flashlights and the dim glow of the moon through the breaks in the treeline. "Izuna said that there was a boy that died here, once. He got lost in the forest after he got off the hiking trail. And rangers and guides searched all throughout the forest, but they never found his body. All they did find was his red jacket caught against some rocks near the creek."

Madara made a point of turning his flashlight upwards so that the biologist could clearly see him roll his dark eyes. 

"Izuna is a _liar_ who knows that you're gullible enough to believe silly stories like that." 

"He wouldn't do that." 

"Do I need to remind you of the time that he told you that if your hand was the size of your face, you had cancer. You're a biologist for Kami's sake! Why would you try it? Did you want him to hit you in the face?"

Hashirama's lip quivered as he hunched over into himself. He made a point of yanking Madara's jacket closer to himself, muttering under his breath about _unfair boyfriends_ and _cruel little brothers_ and _the ghost that's going to get us_.

He still doesn't drop his koala-bear act, however, standing as close to Madara as he could without just clinging directly to his back, while the Uchiha lead them through the dense forestry. The rattling of the branches and the crunch of the undergrowth did little to sooth his frazzled nerves, and the forest that Hashirama usually adored was becoming his worst nightmare. Every single sound of snapped twig that they didn't cause or the flutter of wings sent his pounding heart down into the pits of his stomach, and Hashirama felt freezing panic settle into his bones. Clammy, almost. Even the settling of the old, huge pines did little to ease him, somehow louder as he strained his ears to listen. 

_It's just a story, just a story, just a story, just a--_

Madara's arm shot out, slamming against Hashirama's chest. The taller of the two let out a soft yelp, and he pitifully rubbed at the tender flesh that would probably bruise his skin (except not in the good way that Madara usually did it). The Uchiha pointed his flashlight down, directly in front of him so nothing but their dew-wet boots, the rotting leaves, and pine needles were visible. Hashirama scrambles to do the same, and Madara adjusts the badge on his belt to be seen better. The silver gleams. 

"You hear that?" 

There was a distinct _whistle_ through the damp air. Hashirama strained his eyes across the darkened sky, and saw a distinct sizzle of light through the breaks in the leaves. _Fireworks._

"I fucking knew it." Madara grumbled, shaking his head. "There's not enough clearing for them to shoot them off. No wonder we've been having fires, it's too dense for them _not_ to light something." He inched forward, clicking off his flashlight. Hashirama followed after, his former anxieties forgotten as he gleefully felt like some sort of detective or something, about to bust the criminal. Laughter broke through the silent air, overtaking the sounds of pattering feet and the loud _hoot_ of an owl that Hashirama couldn't see. 

"It's just a couple of teenagers." Madara noted, unimpressed. He motioned Hashirama closer, pointing them out. 

It was three teenagers, probably not any older than fourteen or fifteen. There was a pile of bottle rockets on the ground, and he could see the flames from their lighters. A few bright LED lantern lit up the area, and Hashirama could see some soda bottles, some cans and a few wrappers littering the ground-- how could they? That type of garbage was not biodegradable!

Hashirama mourned the Earth. 

"What are you going to do?" He asked his boyfriend with wide eyes. "What can you do?" 

Madara raised an eyebrow, "I'm going to put the fear of Kami into the little fucking idiots. I don't feel like doing any paperwork on arrests tonight." He rolled his shoulders, already tired of the situation. "You stay here." 

"Maybe I should go talk to them instead. They're pretty tall for kids…" Hashirama gives him a grin, nudging him in the elbow. "I don't want you to get intimidated." 

Madara gave him another unimpressed look (the eighth for the whole night so far), crossing his arms across his chest. "I will arrest you," He threatened. "You know I'm still an actual _law enforcement_ officer. And I won't bail you out either."

"Arrest me for _what_?"

"Annoying an officer. That's a law." 

And well, Hashirama didn't know _enough_ about the law to dispute that so he shrunk into himself. He fought off a pout, shaking his head until Madara sighed _loudly._ He stomped his way over towards the three teenage boys. Hashirama lingered by the tree nearest the small clearing that the kids were standing in, wincing at the volume of Madara's voice, which rang through the empty forest. 

He didn't _want_ to be alone, especially not with all of Izuna's little stories dancing through his head, but he also didn't feel comfortable being near those poor kids while Madara raged because what if the Uchiha turned on _him_? Hashirama would cry, and he didn't want to cry in front of the children. He huddled close to the large oak, wrapping his arms as far as he could against the huge trunk. The bark dug into his cheek, but the scrapping pressure helped keep his mind from wandering. 

Madara was _really_ going at it, too. 

"--if I ever see you out here doing this again, I swear on my late father's grave--" Tajima wasn't even dead, he lived in the land of Waves on his retirement fund, what was he saying? "--that I will personally escort you to the jail, where you can spend your night with my cousin, _praying_ that I don't get to decide which cell block you go into."

He'd even taken his hair down, which meant that he was pissed off, because the last time Madara had taken his hair down from his work-bun mid-screaming was when Tobirama accidentally stabbed Izuna in the side in the science lab during their university days. Hashirama winced in sympathy for those poor kids. His arms were flailing, balled into fists and wildly swinging from pointing at the trees to pointing at the boys. The blonde boy was already in tears, even Hashirama could see the big watery eyes, and the other one had his head hung down in absolute shame. 

Lingering behind them, the third boy had his arms crossed over his chest, sinking into his red jacket, although he didn't look particularly chastised. He almost seemed bored, and he glanced up for a moment to meet Hashirama's gaze. An uncomfortable chill ran down his flesh, like goosebumps. As quickly as he met the kid's dark eyes, they were gone, looking off into the distance behind Madara's head. The Uchiha was red-faced and heaving for breath in the cold air, so much so that Hashirama swore his eyes flashed bright red for a moment from either anger or lack of oxygen, and then finally he stopped. Madara swung down, grasping the bottle rockets, snapping off the fuse and throwing them at the kids. 

"Pick them up." Madara demanded, and he kept his blazing glare on the whimpering kids until the two boys standing in front picked them up. "You can stay and clean up the rest of your garbage. I better not see you or any trash when I do my round through here later, or so help me, not even Kami will be able to save you. I will _find you_. Understand me?"

"Yes, sir." The dark-haired boy blubbered, shaking hands reaching down to collect the discarded wrappers and broken soda bottles. Madara seemed satisfied by the whole situation, whirling around. 

He stomped his way back towards Hashirama, slowly coming down from whatever high he got out of screaming, especially at people that cowered away from him because of it. Secretly, Hashirama thought his loud voice and anger issues were to make up for what he lacked in height, but he'd never say it outloud unless he wanted to fist fight the Uchiha . (And he _didn't_ want to fight him. He wanted to cuddle and kiss him for the rest of their lives, or if Madara wouldn't agree to that long, at least fifteen minutes.)

"Shouldn't we wait and help them out of the forest?" Hashirama asked worriedly, turning his flashlight back on as he hurried after the retreating Madara. 

Madara grunted, "If they could find their way into the forest, they can find their way out." He slows down purposefully until Hashirama catches up. He walks side-by-side with the Senju. After a second, Madara held out his hand, which was his signal to _hold my hand but I will deny anything if anyone ever sees me instigating this_. Hashirama took it with quite glee, smashing his body as close as he could and squeezing Madara's warm hand. 

"Well," Hashirama said brightly. "At least we know they won't do that again." 

"Hn," Madara grunted in response. 

Hashirama laid his head across the man's shoulder, swinging their combined fingers as they navigated back towards the hiking trail. Once they found the usual trail marker, getting back to the ranger's station would be a breeze. Which would be _great_ because Hashirama still had a bad feeling about being out in the forest at night when the ghost boy roams to find and terrorize his victims, or whatever Izuna said. 

"You had that one boy in _tears_. He was crying, Dara." Hashirama rolled his eyes at the way pride lit up on the Uchiha's face. "And the kid next to him was just about to yell for his mom. Maybe you were too harsh…? Or maybe not, because that third boy didn't seem too bothered. I hope he doesn't come back and do worse. Those poor trees…"

Madara stops, giving him a strange look. "Third boy?" He questioned. "Hashirama, what are you talking about? There were only the two." 

Hashirama's eyebrows furrowed.

"What are _you_ talking about?" He questioned back, his heart beat picking up. It pounded hard against him as that old fear from before started to send chills down his spine, his whole body felt like he had been dipped in ice water. "The boy in the red jacket that was standing behind the other two."

Madara's eyes are wide, almost disbelieving. Skeptical. 

"Hashirama," He said slowly. "There wasn't anyone standing behind them. It was just the _two_."

Somewhere, behind them in the forest, he heard twigs snap. 

* * *


End file.
